Electronic Arts (EA) recently announced that more than one million copies of Madden NFL 25 were sold in the very first week. However, the reported figure is less than the 1.65 million sold in the year-ago period. EA’s shares on the NASDAQ consequently fell 3.4%, closing at $26.76 on September 6.
EA Sports released Madden NFL 25 in late August for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and iOS. Upon the November release of the Xbox One and PlayStation 4, the title is planned to also be available on the next-gen consoles. The “25” is a nod to the 25th anniversary of the series rather than the typical year “14” as in previous years, and it is one of the first games to run on EA Sports’ Ignite game engine.
Why?
On the outside, low sales hardly appear to be a problem for EA since it is reportedly the highest selling video game title from the publisher in August, and has had players engaged for more than 6 million hours. But according to NASDAQ, the decrease in sales appears to be due to gamers holding off for the upcoming release of next-gen consoles.
Which stands to reason. Why spend the cash on a game for a system that you might want to trade in once the next generation hits if you can still get it for the bigger, better system?
In spite of the dip, NASDAQ is still optimistic about EA’s prospects, and believe that upon the launch of the new consoles, things can only go upward thanks to a strong product pipeline that includes some of the most well-known franchises like FIFA 14, Battlefield 4, NBA Live 14, and Need for Speed. All four titles are scheduled for release in the quarter ending December 31 during the peak holiday season where higher consumer spending should boost EA’s top line.
Also to note from NASDAQ with respect to hit upcoming titles:
“It will be interesting to see whether Take-Two’s upcoming Grand Theft Auto V also faces a similar fate post its release this month.”
